Ruled by her Daddies (Harem of Daddies)

He drew her in tight against him, hugging her. “No, if you’d stayed you would have died as well. And his injuries meant he died quickly.”

A small white lie wouldn’t hurt.

“But he wasn’t a reporter and as far as we can tell, he wasn’t connected to William. Unfortunately none of the inside cameras were working so we couldn’t get a visual of the shooting. Aleki hacked into the traffic cams outside the entrance but the only car matching your description had tinted windows and stolen license plates. No leads to follow up. Micah made some inquiries but it seems the cops are just as stumped. Nobody had mentioned you, though.”

She took in a shuddering breath. “Okay, what else?”

Caleb let out a deep breath. He didn’t want to tell her this next part, but she had a right to know. “The shooter likely picked up your handbag and the flash drive. Since nothing on the flash drive has been used against your father, we can guess the shooter worked for him.”

“So you think my own father sent someone to shoot me?”

He hated how lost she sounded. “It’s possible that it could have been the mystery man. Since we don’t know who he is, we’re not sure how he factors in.”

There were still so many unanswered questions. Who was the mystery man? How did he come into all of this?

“It seems your father is searching for you. But we expected that. So far, he hasn’t done anything suspicious, but we still have Micah watching him.”

“For how long?”

“As long as necessary. We’ll do whatever we have to in order to keep you safe. We need to figure out who the mystery man is and ensure that he and your father leave you alone. For good.”

“How?” she whispered. “Without the information on that flash drive, how can we take my father down?”

He frowned. “We’ll find a way. Micah had one of his guys look into William’s death, but it seems it really was a heart attack.”

He felt some of the tension leave her. “Okay, that’s good to know.”

“We’re going to watch the funeral. You want to do that?”

“I think so. At least some of it. It’s not like I feel I owe him anything. William wasn’t a good husband. He was manipulative and could be mean, even if at the end he was trying to make things better. However, I feel like I should watch to see how my father is acting and what he’s saying about me not being there.”

Caleb nodded. “Then we’ll do that. Together. As a family. Wolfe is going to deal with the Marilyn stuff for the moment and pull me in if needed.”

“I don’t think it’s that big of a deal—”

He placed his hand over her mouth. “It is for us. I’m not going to bend on this one. And even if we did, there is no way that Kassim would allow it. This can’t be allowed to go unanswered. It sets a precedent. Understand?”

She nodded.

Leaning in, he kissed her forehead. “You really should take a nap, the funeral isn’t until late our time.”

“I don’t think I can.” She tapped her head. “Too much going on.”

“Oh yeah? Hmm, I might have an idea on how to distract you,” he murmured. “I thought that maybe we should have our first date.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“How about a swim?” he suggested.

She froze. Swim? Was he insane? Swimming was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Couldn’t we just watch a movie or something?”

He stared at her, his gaze narrowed. “You still don’t swim?”

“No, I don’t think I even know how anymore. I haven’t really swum since my mom drowned.”

“Shit.”